You weren’t prepared to change right now and thought you might have another 6-12 months to consolidate in your current role.

You feel that you still have a few key things you want to deliver on before you move to a new role.

Then keep this in mind…..

We don’t get to control when things happen, but we get to control how we respond.

You don’t want to have regrets or wonder what could have been.

There will always be things to do in your current role.

You will often think you don’t quite measure up right now, that you are not yet fully formed in relation to the demands of this new role.

What do you have to lose (apart from time) by applying?

I wasn’t ready at 27 to start my own business, I had very different plans to travel and work overseas for a few years. When the opportunity presented to launch Eden Ritchie Recruitment, I took it and it changed the course of where my life could have gone. I don’t have any regrets, it has never been an easy path and there have been, and continue to be, plenty of challenges and opportunities.

We have to remain open, flexible, responsive or we risk stagnation. When opportunities present, we need to take a calculated “risk” and put ourselves out there. This can sometimes mean failure or rejection and that is never easy. So, there may never be “the right time” but what you can ensure is that you are a worthy contender.

Put your best forward – write the best possible application that you can. Constantly seek out learning and development, professionally and personally. Leverage your mentors and constantly seek their advice. Make yourself relevant not redundant and be able to articulate your vision, your fit, your values, your achievements in relation to this new opportunity. Ultimately be brave and embrace any learnings that come your way and apply for any role aligned with your experience and capabilities, that genuinely takes your interest, that both scares and excites you.

Temporary and contracting roles can be an easy entry point into an organisation that you have been waiting to get into, the application process can be less complex and be so much FastERR! In some cases, you can be talking with one of our recruiters one day and starting your assignment the next.

Here are a few great reasons to consider temp or contract work for your next career move.

Temporary work can allow you the flexibility to work around your planned holidays or time to follow your own personal pursuits, like study or family. You can control how much work you take on and when. This can be an enticing benefit and something that keeps people temping for long spans of time.

A convenient way to fill a gap between permanent positions can be with a temporary role. It is easier to show a potential employer your willingness to take on a smaller assignment than to explain a break in employment. In addition, a smaller contract can really be a great way to earn income while deciding on your next role.

Build your skills in areas that give you that competitive edge with temp work. It is a smart and focussed way to increase your set of experiences. You can build your resume across multiple roles and you will have a bank of demonstratable achievements to take into your next job interview. You will be able to show your next employer your initiative and drive and prove how adaptable and flexible you are.

While on your temp assignment you will have the ability to make connections in an organisation or industry that may otherwise be difficult to break into. You can establish friendships, share information and ideas, demonstrate your skills to colleagues and learn from others. If you make an effort to interact and make contacts, while working in your temp assignment, you will open the door to more opportunities in the future.

Temp work can see you earning a competitive salary, as you are being compensated for missing out on benefits like sick leave and holiday pay. However, if you work smart and your skills are in demand you can really profit from the increased pay rate.

You get to try an industry, job or organisation before you lock in, making it easier to decide what your next career move may be. Successfully completing a temp assignment and leaving a good impression, will help you to be more easily placed on your next assignment and if you are a good fit for the organisation, your temp work may just turn into an offer of a permanent position.

Did you know that temporary roles or contracting work can cover everything from administrative work, to policy, project, accounting or IT?

If you are interested in becoming a contractor and taking on temporary work, the FastERR team at Eden Ritchie are here to help. Send your resume to jobs@fastERR and you’ve made your first move toward a rewarding next step.

An article in the AFR (Friday 10 May 2019) attributed to the Financial Times titled “What happens when it all goes wrong” got me thinking. The article, in essence, was about entrepreneurs and failure; mental health and how often when a venture “fails”, most are reluctant to talk about it.

In my opinion, it’s good to rip the lid off this and get real, to have more honest conversations about starting, running and maintaining a venture. In our heavily saturated FOMO social media world, and particularly from a business perspective, we hear a lot about the rapid growth-er’s, the big earners, the deal makers, the stars….

I personally don’t want to hear sordid details in the media about the rapid fall from grace of certain senior executives, often publicly shamed and forever associated (sometimes legitimately, sometimes not) for making poorly informed decisions. Whilst to an extent we can all learn from these “mistakes” it’s often a sensationalised, one sided story.

Back to the article. Statements such as – “it is all consuming”, “it takes over your life”, “people feel they have to put on a front” were only a few that resonated with me. Whether you are launching a business or building a career there will be constant challenges and setbacks, along with some degree of what you define as success.

Part of the role of a recruiter is to tell applicants they were unsuccessful in their application for a career opportunity. My experience in doing this has shown me that some take this feedback better than others. Some use it as a learning and development opportunity, some take it personally, I guess it can also depend a bit on context.

Being adaptable, dusting yourself off, surrounding yourself with the very best support and your ultimate motivation for what you are doing – aside from purely financial returns, were highlighted in this article as key factors to ensuring you keep punching. Taking a setback for just what it is – a moment in time, a learning opportunity, another chance to practice your resilience and a time to phone a friend for a pep talk. Keep punching.

23 years, who would have thought?! Not me that’s for sure. Back when we created ERR we intended to exit after 10 years. So, what happened? Possibly a combination of things? Life seems to fly past the older you get and between work and outside of work it gets a bit all consuming. Saying that I am a bit of a planner (read between that line – perfectionist!) so it hasn’t all been by chance.

Ironically, spending most of my days counselling others about making an optimally timed career change, I myself have been within the same industry, role and organisation for a very long time. As I have written before, running my own business has kept me challenged, and that’s one way of describing it – one big and constant challenge. Likewise recruiting affords an opportunity to look into such a range of organisations and teams and even though functionally it is much the same, the people element always provides new insights, learnings and challenges.

Afforded with the opportunity to be both a business owner and recruiter has been a good combination for keeping me charged and interested. As I write this we celebrate 23 years in business and the central message for me is all about change. Never easy, change challenges us to be different, open our minds and take ourselves out of our comfort zone.

There are still many things I would love to change. Including but not limited to – the way we select and assess people for roles, the application process, the feedback process, the stock standard resume, the application letter, the lack of risk taking in selection and the perceived need for a direct match, such as needing prior industry experience. More hiring decisions factoring in values and behaviours, rather than just selecting for pure technical fit. Discounting people over a certain age. Paying people different amounts for doing the same work. The reactive nature of many organisations and the lack of real workforce planning. Thinking people have to be sitting at a desk to be productive, rather than measuring actual outcomes and effectiveness. The reliance on outdated industries for economic growth and the need for a greater emphasis on creativity and innovation. Over regulation, scapegoating and the lack of support from institutions for new and emerging local businesses. The great need for inspirational, brave and authentic leaders both in the corporate and political spheres.

In our 23rd year I predict more of the same, but also some change – in whatever form that might take. Because change drives opportunity and I am totally up for that!

It was quite inspiring to listen to them tell their stories and acknowledge and laugh with them about perceptions and barriers along the way. The story from Commissioner Carroll about when she first joined the police force in 1983 and was required to wear high heels and carry both her gun and handcuffs in her handbag, while the men wore these on their belt. This was a clear distinction between the genders. Of course now that is not the case as both male and female officers wear these plus more on their utility belts.

My biggest take from this event, was that we need to voice what we want and not be afraid to do so. Be bold and ambitious in what we want. Take the risk and don’t be afraid. If you don’t ask then you will never know.

This is further more reiterated in a book that I am reading at the moment called “Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead” by Sheryl Sandberg who is the COO for Facebook. Times are changing and there are more women in leadership positions across the world then 10 years ago.

Don’t get me wrong, we have a long way to go and with the next generation of women coming through, are not afraid to speak up and ask and this will lead to more and more women will be in significant leadership roles.

The gap of inequality in leadership positions is slowly decreasing and I look forward to the day in which I see more women in senior positions.